Machine for the manufacture and delivery of parallelepipedal paperboard boxes



June 17, 1952 G. BARDET 2,600,954

MACHINE FOR THE MANUFACTURE AND DELIVERY OF PARALLELEPIPEDAL PAPERBOARD BOXES Filed June 50, 1949 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTORI GERRRDBFIRDET j zf June 1952 G. BARDET 2,600,954

MACHINE FOR THE MANUFACTURE AND DELIVERY OF PARALLELEPIPEDAL PAPERBOARD BOXES Filed June 30, 1949 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTO R'- 412mm BARDET BY June 17, 1952 G. BARDET 2,600,954

MACHINE FOR THE MANUFACTURE AND DELIVERY OF PARALLELEPIPEDAL PAPERBOARD BOXES Filed June 30, 1949 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 Fig. 6.

INVEN TOR GERARD BARDET June 11, 1952 G. BARDET 2,600,954

MACHINE FOR THE MANUFACTURE AND DELIVERY OF PARALLELEPIPEDAL PAPERBOARD BOXES 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed June 30, 1949 INVEN TOR: GERHRD BAEDET Patented June 17, 1952 MACHINE FOR THE MANUFACTURE AND DE- I LIVERY OF PARALLELEPIPEDAL PAPER- BOARD BOXES Grard Bardct, Paris, France Application June 30, 1949, Serial No. 102,408 In-France July 3, 1948 I Claims. (01.93-44.1

Generally, paperboard boxes intended for packing purposes are made from a blank, i. e. a rectangular piece of paperboard stamped with fold lines according to the size of the box to be obtained and slitted at the ends of some of the said lines so that the marginal portions of the blank can be folded or bent up to a box;

Most frequently the blank is folded to a finished box simply on a table-by means of a few bending cheeks which are light in weight. However, the boxes thus obtained suffer from the existence of diagonal folds that are detrimental to their appearance and not particularly welcomed for automatic filling purposes. Better results are obtained where the blank is folded and glued to a finished box about a suitably dimensioned die. Howsoever, in all the known machines, the box-shapingv process relies upon the action of a plurality of hinged cheeks. For want of a sufiiciently strong pressing action the boxes thus obtained are not quite true,

in addition to which dead times and idle-strokes in the displacements of the various members stand in the way of a satisfactory output.

The invention is concerned with a machine composed primarily of a turret rotatably mounted on a stationary shaft, a fixed cam disc secured to the top end of said shaft, a number of stands uniformly distributed over the periphery of the turret and comprising each a bracket in which a die-carrying rod is guided vertically, a table below said bracket provided therein with an aperture equal in width to the width of the box to be manufactured and in length to the length of the blank of the box, a

' pair of vertical side cheeks arranged below said table each adjacent to one of the longer sides of the. aperture, means on the frame of the table to resiliently support said cheeks, a pairof clamps directly below said table and having their legs directed at right angles to said ver tical cheeks, means to reciprocate said clamps horizontally, a pair of vertical end cheeks arranged below the said clamps at right angles to said side cheeks and carried resiliently by said frame, camgrooves in the edge of said fixed disc, followers guided in said grooves and means to reciprocate said die-carrying rod and said .clamps respectively under the control of said followers.

A preferred embodiment of the invention will now be described for the purpose of examplification and by no means of limitation, reference being had to the drawings appended hereto in Q,',W1'll0h.

Figures 1 to 4 diagrammatically illustrate the various steps of the box manufacturing process.

Figures 5 and 6 illustrate the machine in vertical sectional and top plan view respectively.

Figure 7 is a vertical section of a detail taken on line VIIVII in Fig. 5.

Figure-8 is a vertical section taken on line VII-VII in Fig. 5 showing the die in a subsequent position. 4

Figure 9 is a horizontal section taken on line IX-IX in Fig. 5. r a

Figures 10, 11 and 12 are diagrammatic detail views of modifications.

Inthe manufacture of parallelepipedal boxes by the method according to the inventionga blank A is started from which is cutout, stamped withfold. lines, slitted and locally glue-coated as shown in Fig. 1 in which D designates the glue-coated areas of the blank. -Ina; first step in the manufacturing process the sidefiaps .B ;-.-B of the blank are bent upwards to channel shape as illustrated in Fig. 2. Thereafter theend lugs C sheared out in each side flap are bent. irr-as shown in Fig. 3 to provide a backing for the-respective glue-coated blank end flaps D, D which are likewise bent upwards and thereby assembled with said lugs to a finished box as shownin Fig. 4.

The box-making machine may be supplied either with ready cut-out, lined out and slitted blanks piled up in a magazine or with-band paperboard to be stamped out on the machine itself by a mechanism working in step therewith.

As shown in Fig. 5, the box-making .tableis provided on a turret 6 rotatably mounted on a vertical fixed shaft 1; keyed at-8 on said shaft is a disc 9 in the edge ID of which a camgroove 36 is milled which is adapted through the-medium of a follower carried by the die rodZfi and guided therein to vertically reciprocatesaid rod which is guided in a bracket 38 rigid with the turret 6. The locally glue-coated blanks are brought one by one in step, with the operation of the machine onto a fixed grate lz which is slotted at 53, 53 at either side of the boxshaping aperture as shown in Fig. 6. Projecting upwards through either slot are a pair of studs [3 adapted to catch the blank and to drag it along; moreover, a vertically swingable fiap l4 actuated through the medium of a rod 3|. a lever 32 and a follower 3E! guided in a cam groove milled in the disc 9 is swung erect for sufficient time to correctly center the blank with respect tothe aperture in the table.

As shown in Figs. and 6, the main parts of the machine are the die I the dimensions of which correspond to those of the box to be manufactured and which is carried by a vertically reoiprocatable rod 29 and a table 2 which is formed with an aperture slightly larger in width than the finished box while the length of the apertureis e'qual'to that of the paperboard blank. Resiliently mounted below the table and vertically aligned each with one of the longer sides of the aperture are a pair of cheeks 3 equal in size to the sides of the box. These cheeks are so mounted that they can move a small distance away from the sides of the die as shown in Fig. 8. The blank once correctly positioned on the table is caught by the die and forced downwards and its side marginal portions are squeezed between the same and either cheek to channel shape as shown in Fig. 2; the lugs C at the ends of the side marginal portions as well as the end marginal portions D still extend beyond the end faces of the die.

As a second step in the manufacturing process the said end lugs C are laid flat against the end faces ofthe die each by one leg of a pair of clamps 4 moved horizontally towards each other (see Fig. 9). Said clamps are arranged directly below the table. As long as the die is moved down said clamps are completely retracted so that the end lugs G and the end flaps D. are not interfered with; they become eflective to lay the end lugs C flat against the end faces of the die as soon as the bottom or web portion of the channelhas moved a little distance below the level ofthe clamp top edges. The clamps are carried each by a rod 40 slidably'received in a guide 39;. pivoted to said rods are a pair of 2- armed levers 41 interconnected by a motionreversing link 46. The other arm 42. of one of the levers '4l carries a follower. 63 running on a can! 44 provided on the disc.

the last step in 'the manufacturing process 'thegluef-coated ndflap D of the blank is bent upwards by a pair of end cheeks 5 similar. to the side cheeks 3 by which the first step was performed (see'Fig. 5); the die then proceeds in its downward motion between the said end cheeks the extent of the full height of the box, following which it remains stationary for a sufficient time to ensure that a reliable assemblage isfobtained. As to the ejection of the finished .boxfit is performed by the die itself which, as

it completes its'downward stroke, will force the box clear of the lower edges of the end cheeks;

as the die begins again to ascend the top edges of the box will en gage the lower edges of the end cheeks so that' the box is stripped autom ti e r "It will be, appreciated that the actuation of all the parts of the box-making mechanism proper, i. e. the reciprocation of the die, the bending up of the blank side flaps, the bending in of the end lugs of said side flaps, the bendup of the glue-coated end flaps and the stripping of the finished box, is derived exclusively from'the rotation of the turret. As already stated, the die is stopped in the course of" its downward stroke asit comes into register with the end checks 5 due to the provision of a flat in the cam group 36.

At the beginning of the said stop in the downward movement of the die which is still pressed between either end check 5 and which begins to be moved. around by theturret the die becomes engaged between a pair ofarcuate guide bars I5 concentric with the vertical axis 1. One of the two said guides which are carried by the machine frame is fixed while the other is strongly urged towards the former by springs 55. For the time the die is moved along between the two guides, which time corresponds to that for which the die is stopped in its downward motion, the glue-coated end flaps I 0 of the blank are vigorously pressed against the extensions C of the blank sides, which extensions are already laid flat on the end faces of the die, whereby the reliability of the assemblage is improved.

Further advantages, in addition to those briefly pointed out in hereinbefore, result from the setting of the reciprocatory motion of the die under the control of the rotation of the turret; effectively, it becomes possible to increase the capacity of the machine by equipping the turret with a plurality of box-making stands in each of which a paperboard blank is taken as the stand considered moves past one and the same blank intake station from which a finished box is ejected at one and the same box delivery station, to derive the motion of the end flap bend-up mechanism directly from the rotational motion of the turret through levers cooperating with fixed cams, to utilize the horizontal tangential speed component of the movement of the boxes as they are ejected contingently for inserting them into the turret of an additional machine designed for the production of the articles to be, packed in the boxes.

An automatic rotary box-filling machine may advantageously be supplied with the necessary empty boxes as described hereinafter, reference being had to Fig. 6. In this arrangement, the empty boxes are conveyed in cells I5 interconnected by rods 33 pivoted to the ends of each pair of successive cells. The whole system of rods and cells is mounted on a pair of rotary machines similar to a roller chain trained over a pair of sprocket wheels. More specifically, the operative connection between the box-conveying chain and the box-making machine is achieved by the engagement of each cell between the legs of a fork 34 carried by the turret at each stand. Each cell I6 is thus located below a die I and loaded with a finished empty box to be conveyed to the box-filling machine as the die reaches the bottom of its stroke as illustrated in Fig. 5.

The invention is by no means limited to the particular embodiment thereof described hereinbefore; it is rather intended to cover the whole or part of any machine adapted, merely as a result of the rotation of its turret, to automatically supply a machine manufacturing products to be packed with the necessary paperboard packages. More particularly, the die may be reciprocated, and the turret shaft directed, otherwise than vertically; moreover, certain steps in the manu facture of the box may be performed with the aid of members different from the ones described; thus, the end lugs may be bent in by means of swingable fingers as shown in Fig. 10 instead of by the legs of clamps as shown in Fig. 9; likewise, rocking members 5| as shown in Fig. 11, or sliding members as shown in Fig. 12, may be used for swinging the end flaps D erect instead of the resiliently mounted end checks 5 illustrated in Fig. 5.

What I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A machine for manufacturing parallelepipedal paperboard boxes from rectangular, lined out, slitted and locally glue-coated blanks comprising a fixed vertical shaft, a turret rotatable about said fixed vertical shaft, a plurality of stands mounted on said turret and equipped each with a rectangular prismatic box-shaping die tov the horizontal top face of which a rod is secured which is guided in a vertical reciprocatory motion in the turret, a horizontal table with a rectangular aperture therein for the passage of the die therethrough, having its width equal to that of the finished box and its length equal to that of the blank, means on the table to correctly position a blank laid on the same with respect to said aperture, a pair of parallel vertical side cheeks resiliently mounted below the table alongside the side edges of said aperture adapted to bend up the side portions of the blank and to press them against the vertical side faces of the die as the latter forces the blank downwards through the aperture in the table, two pairs of clamps mounted below the table and being movable towards each other at right angles to said side cheeks to bend the lugs at the ends of either side portion of the blank while laying them fiat against the vertical end faces of the die after said end lugs have been bent upwards together with the said side portions of the blank during the downward stroke of the die and away from each other upon the top face of the die clearing either pair of clamps, a pair of vertical end cheeks tion of the turret adapted firstly to sink the die through the table to a position therebelow and cause each pair of clamps to move towards the other in the box-making stroke of the die and secondly to move said clamps clear of the box and lift the die clear of the table, ready for the production of a further paperboard box from a new blank laid on the table of the machine, in the next cycle of operation.

2. A machine for manufacturing parallelepipedal paperboard boxes from rectangular, lined out, slitted and locally glue-coated blanks com prising a fixed vertical shaft, a turret rotatable about said vertical shaft, a disc keyedon said shaft above said turret and milled with camming uideways, a plurality of stands mounted on said turret and equipped each with a rectangular prismatic box-shaping die to the horizontal top face of which a vertical rod is secured which is guided in a vertical reciprocatory motion in the turret, a follower pivoted to the upper end of said vertical rod and cooperating with one of the aforesaid camming guideways by which the die is reciprocated vertically in the course of the rotation of the turret through the medium of said follower and said vertical rod, a horizontal table with a rectangular aperture therein for the passage of the ,dietherethrough, having its width equal to that fof the finished box and its length equal to that of the blank, means on the table to correctly position a blank laid on the same with re spect to said aperture, a pair of parallel vertical side cheeks resiliently mounted below the table alongside the side edges of said aperture adapted to bend the side portions of the blank upwards and to press them against the vertical side faces of the die as the latter forces the blank downwards through the aperture in the table, two pairs of clamps mounted belowthe table and being movable towards each other at right angles to said side cheeks to inwardly bend the lugs at the ends of either side portion of the blank-and lay them fiat against the vertical end faces :of the die after said end lugs have been bent upwards together with the said side portions of the blank during the downward stroke of the die and away from each other upon the top face of the die clearing either pair of clamps, a pair of vertical end cheeks resiliently mounted below the respective pairs of clamps substantially in the planes of the dieend faces adapted as the die is sunk between the two side cheeks to cooperate with the end faces of said die to lay the glue-coated end flaps of the blank flat against thelugs providing the extensions of either blank sideflap and previously laid fiat against the end faces of the die by the aforesaid clamps and means controlled by the rotation of the turret adapted firstly to sink the die through the table to a position therebelow and to cause each pair of clamps to move towards each other in the box-making stroke of the die and secondly to move said clamps clear of the box and lift the die clear of the table, ready for the production of a further paperboard box from a new blank laid on the table of the machine, in the next cycle of operation.

3. A machine for manufacturing parallelepipedal paperboard boxes from rectangular, lined out. slitted and locally glue-coated blanks comprising a fixed vertical shaft, a turret rotatable about said fixed vertical shaft, a pair of arcuate guide bars secured to the machine frame concentric with said shaft, springs urging said guide bars towards each other, a plurality of stands mounted on said turret and equipped each with a rectangular prismatic box-shaping die to the hori= zontal top face of which a vertical rod issecured which is guided in a vertical reciprocatory motion in the turret, the said rod and die assembly being stopped for a while during their downward stroke, a horizontal table with a rectangular aperture therein for the passage of the die therethrough, having its width equal to that of the finished box and its length equal to that of the blank, means on the table to correctly position a blank laid on the same with respect to said aperture, a pair of parallel vertical side cheeks resiliently mounted below the table alongsidethe side edges of said aperture adapted to bend the side portions of the blank upwards and to press them against the vertical side faces of the die as the latter forces the blank downwards through the aperture in the table, two pairs of clamps mounted below the table and being swingable towards each other at right anglesto said side cheeks to inwardly bend the lugs at the ends of either side portion of the blank and lay them flat against the vertical end faces of the die after said end lugs have been bent upwards together with the said side portions of the blank during the downward stroke of the die and away from each other upon the top face of the die clearing either pair of clamps, a pair of vertical end cheeks resiliently mounted below the respective pair-of clamps substantially in the planes of the die end faces and on a level with the position in which the die is stopped in the course of its downward stroke, adapted to upwardly bend the partly gluecoated end flaps of the blank and to press them on the lugs providing extensions of either side iflap 1o! thelh'lank :andpreviouslylaid eflatzagainst aeitheraendifaceiof the. die'by the aforesaidclamps, =a pair :of followers mounted each on the backside nf -either.end .cheeknnd adapted during thetime the die iis stopped -:in its :downwardmotion and moringbetween the pair of arcuate guide bars "to 2000138112176 with the latter in causingsaid end checks to 'press the glueecoated end flaps .of the :blank against the :blank side end lugs and means controlled 'bypthe rotation .of the turret .adapted ,llrstl-y to :sink the die :through the table to a :positiontherebelowend cause eachpair 10f clamps to move towards each other in the box-makin istrokeof the dieand secondly to move said clamps clear of the box and .lift the die clear ;of the tablereadyforzthe production of a further paperboardzbox from "a new blank :laid-on the .table of :the machine, in the next cycle of operation.

'4. ..A:machine forlmanufacturingparallelepipesdalipaperboard boxes:fromlrectangular, .lined out, xslitted and locally glue-coated blanks comprising afixed vertical shaft, a turret rotatable'aboutsaid fixed vertical shaft, a disc arranged rigid with :said shaft above said turret formed in its edge with a camming groove, a plurality of stands :mounted on said turret and equipped each with a rectangular prismatic box-shaping .die to the horizontal top face of which a vertical rod is secured which is guided in a vertical vreciprocatory xmotion inthe turret, a horizontal table with a rectangular aperture therein for the passage of the die therethrough, having its width equal to that of the finished box and its length equal to that of the blank, means on the tableto correctly position a blank laid on the samewith respect to said aperture, a pair of parallel vertical side cheeks resilientlymounted below the table along= sidethe side edges of said aperture adapted tobend the side portions of the blank upwards and to pressithem against the'vertical side vfacesof the die as the latter .forces the blank downwards through the aperture in the table, two pairs of clamps :mounted below the table in alignment with the respective end faces of the :die at either side of the path of the latter and interconnected by a back web parallel with the sides of the die, a rod rigid with either clamp back web extending towards the outside of the same :and guidedfor the reciprocation of the clamp at right angles to the related side .of the die, a vertical rock shaft mounted in the turret, an arm keyed to the one end of said rock shaft havingits outer end pivoted to the one of said clamp-reciprocating rods, a horizontally swingable 2-arm lever also mounted in the turret having one of its ends pivoted to the other clamp-reciprocating road, a link connecting the .opposite end of. said lever to a point of said arm between said rock shaft and said outer end so that the clamps are reciprocated always in opposite directions, an additional arm keyed to the opposite end of said vertical rock shaft, a follower on the free end of said additional arm, a cam face on the edge of said disc cooperating with said follower adapted through the medium of said rock shaft and the 'arm-and-link system-at the opposite end of same firstly to pull the clamp-carrying rods towards .each other 'aszthe die comes into alignment with the same in the course, of its downward stroke, whereby the lugs at either end of either blank side flap which previously were bent upwards together with the latter are laid flat against the end faces of the die, and secondly away from each other once the die in its down- -ward stroke has cleared the said clamps, arpair '8 of vertical and checks :resiliently mounted below the 'pair of clamps substantially in the planes of the dieend faces adapted as the .said die issunk therebetween to cooperate with the end faces thereof to bend the blank end flaps upwards and to-press them against the blank side end lugsgalready laid flat against said die end faces and means controlled by the rotation of the turret adapted firstly to sink the die through the-table to aposition therebelow and cause each pair of clamps to move towards each other in the boxmaking stroke of the die and secondly to move said clamps clear of the box and lift the die clear of the'table, ready for the production of a further paperboard box from a new blank laid on the table of the machine, in the next cycle of oper- 'ation.

5. Amachinefor manufacturing parallelepipedalpaperboard boxes from rectangular, linedout, slitted and locally glue-coated blanks comprising a fixed vertical shaft, a turret rotatable about the same, a horizontal fixed grid rigid with .the machine frame and provided therethrough with a pair of slots concentric with said shaft, aplurality of stands mounted on said turret and equipped each with a rectangular prismatic boxshaping die to the horizontal top face of which a rod is secured which is guided in a vertical reciprocatory motion in the turret, a horizontal table arranged immediately below said gridypartaking of the rotation of the turret and provided with a rectangular apertureequal in width to the width vof the finished box and in length to the length of the blank for the passage of the die through said aperture, a pair of studs rigid with the table, in alignment with the trailing side of the aperture in the same and projecting through and beyond the pair of concentric slots in said grid adapted to drag a paperboard blank laid on the grid and lay it on the table in correct relation with the aperture in the latter, a vertically swingable flap pivoted to the under side of the table, retractable below the latter or protractable above the top of the same in alignment with the fore side of the aperture in the table considering the direction of rotation of the table, a link having one end thereof pivoted to said flap, a 2- arm lever swingable about ahorizontal shaft having one of its ends pivoted to the other end of r said link and provided at its opposite end with a follower adapted by cooperating with a cam groove milled in the edge of the disc and through the medium of the said lever and said link to retract said flap downwards clear of the table as the latter meets said grid and to protract said flap as said table clears said grid in order to push the blank dragged on the table by the aforesaid studs home against the latter and thereby to correctly position said blank with respect to the aperture in the table, a pair of vertical parallel side cheeks resiliently mounted below the table alongside the side edges of said aperture adapted to bend the side portions of the blank upwards and to press them against the vertical side faces of the die as the latter forces the blank downwards through the aperture in the table, two pairs of clamps mounted below the table and being movable towards each other at right angles to said side checks to bend the lugs at the ends of either side portion of the blank and lay the same fiat against the vertical end faces of the die after said end lugs have been bent upwards together with the said side portions of the blank during the downward stroke of the die and away from each other upon thetop face of the die clearing 9 either pair of clamps, a pair of vertical end cheeks resiliently mounted below the respective pairs of clamps substantially in the planes of the die end faces adapted as the die is sunk between the two side cheeks to cooperate with the end faces of said die to lay the glue-coated end flaps of the blank flat against the lugs providing an extension at either end of either blank side flap and already laid flat against the end faces of the die by the aforesaid clamps and means controlled by the rotation of the turret adapted first- 1y to sink the die through the table to a position therebelow and cause each clamp pair to move towards the other in the box-making stroke of the die and secondly to move said clamp pairs REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,978,057 Paridon Oct. 23, 1934 2,438,788 Palmer Mar. 30, 1948 

